House of Wonders
by Lilanac
Summary: Matt, his younger sister, and Mello get lost in an abandoned theme park. Slightly AU, T for language and a hilariously narcissistic Mello. Humor/Supernatural/Slight Horror/Slight Romance
1. Streets & Confusion

**A/N: Okay! I'll let this speak for itself. If you see any mistakes or especially confusing parts, let me know and I'll try and clear it up. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Sob story, yeah. I do own cookies though, so I'mma go eat those. .**

"Maaaaatt, I don't _want_ to!"

Rena was already in a bad mood, Matt knew, but he wasn't about to give in to his little sister.

"Your dad left me in charge, remember? And we're going whether or not you want to. Besides, Mello is waiting for us, so hurry up, will you?"

He grabbed Rena's hand and dragged her across the busy street, dodging a gaggle of tourists and lamp posts on the sidewalk. Of course, Rena, being fourteen, didn't like this one bit and wrenched her hand out of his grip. She dropped her whiny premise and started looking around the square.

"Matt... Come on. There are so many better things to do. I mean, we're in Charleston! There's history all around us!" This was the teacher's-pet-mode Rena.

"Look, Rena, I left my freaking DS behind so you would come. And if you wanted to look at history, why haven't you bothered for the last twelve years?"

But Rena was distracted, waving at an attractive boy in a cafe down the street. Matt shook his head disapprovingly. Fourteen or not, this was his little sister, and he did _not _want anyone looking at her like... well, like _that._

After spending seven minutes absolutely engrossed in a conversation that was no doubt highly intelligent and profoundly deep, Rena became bored with her tween boy toy and returned to Matt, who had taken up sitting quietly on a bench, people-watching from behind his orange goggles.

"Hey, Matt, I thought we were going to be late, huh? Now who's lounging around?" Matt grinned at her and said, "I wasn't the one leading on yet another helpless eighth grader, now was I?"

Rena's popularity with the other sex gave her hell sometimes.

"Now let's go."

The two picked their way through throngs of people, turning on to progressively less crowded streets until only the occasional tour group wandered past. Both, though especially Matt, knew the city like the back of their hands. Matt had been living here ever since he left Wammy's house and found his closest relative: Rena, his sister, turned away from the home for geniuses and taken in by some family he never bothered to get to know. Neither had ever known their genetic parents, being orphaned at an early age in England. Rena been adopted and found her way across the pond much earlier than he had, as Matt had left Wammy's at nearly fifteen and had been living on his own ever since. Well, almost on his own.

"Mello!" Matt called enthusiastically, having spotted his best - more than best - friend's scarred face working his way towards them. Both were nineteen or so, Mello being slightly older than the redhead but just as alone in the world. They knew each other better than anyone else, being roommates since Matt had first arrived at Wammy's house. For a moment Mello's face lit up just as Matt's was, but after a split second his pride got the better of him and by the time they found each other through a particularly large group of tourists, his face was a mask of indifference. Matt's arms wrapped around him anyway, pulling Mello towards his body by the waist. Rena was otherwise occupied by an especially interesting patch of sidewalk.

After a pause, Mello gave in and embraced Matt as well, his hands clasping at the small of Matt's back, holding him closer. Mello finally let go, wanting it to last longer, why did Matt have to bring his damn _sister_? and the trio continued down the street.

"So, Mels, what'cha doing wandering around like that, anyways?" Rena poked her head inbetween the two boy's shoulders, disrupting about the only intimate part of walking. Mello looked at her rather with distaste, but answered anyway, since it wasn't really her fault she was so young and innocent.

"I got tired of waiting at the diner so I came to meet you guys," he lied smoothly. "Really, you were taking so damn long I was starting to worry." He finished with an arrogant flip of his hair.

"You liar," Matt called his bluff almost instantly. "You were effing lost, weren't you?"

Mello had been wandering the same streets for quite a while, totally and completely lost with no sense of direction to speak of.

"Of course not!" Mello scoffed. He knew Matt was only humoring him - having known Mello so long, one could almost read the blond's mind through his icy blue eyes.

"Whatever you say, Mello." Matt slipped his hand playfully into the chocolate addict's. He could feel every line on Mello's palm despite the gloves he was wearing, Matt could feel the pulse of Mello's blood from inches away, so attuned that their every move was known to the other almost before it happened. At the touch, they fell in to step, perfectly synchronized. Rena was feeling rather left out and dropped back to walk a couple yards behind the happy couple, trying not to associate herself with them.

At this they got even closer, and more distracted with every step, Rena glaring at the concrete below her feet, until when she finally looked up and realized she had no idea where they were.

"Er, Matt? Sorry to interrupt the love and all, but where the hell are we?" Matt reluctantly looked away from Mello, back to his sister standing awkwardly in the shade of a particularly large house that he realized, with a twinge of unease, he had never seen before. He was, however, still irritated that she had interrupted them. Even though he had invited her along, begged her to come have fun, he had forgotten just how seductive Mello could be,

"Rena, how am I supposed to know? Anyway, it's fine, we'll just walk straight back until we get to where we were before." He and Mello turned and began walking back the way they had come.

"Matt, that won't work." Rena was trying not to piss Matt off anymore than she already had, but her attitude had another idea. "You took effing _turns_, you know, smartass."

"What?" Matt actually looked at her now, paying attention. He was confused now, there hadn't been any... turns, had there? "Where?"

"I don't know!" Rena was almost actually mad now. "I was _trying_ not to pay attention to your little adoration extravaganza, I just followed!"

Matt muttered "Damn," trying to think, where were they? Mello was totally unconcerned, having found a chocolate bar in a pocket that required more attention than such a trivial thing as being lost.

"I thought you two knew your way around?" Mello managed inbetween bites of chocolate. "I mean, come on, you _live_ here."

"You 'live here' too, Mello, remember?" Rena shot him an icy glare, somewhat jealous he could solicit so much attention from her brother.

"So?"

Rena rolled her eyes and turned back to Matt, trying to ignore the crunching of the leather-clad blonde behind her. Matt's deep blue eyes were closed, his goggles around his neck, trying to mentally review the streets of Charleston, but how was he supposed to know where he was when he had no idea where they'd gone? The only information he had to work with was where they had started from, but with no idea when they'd veered from the correct path, that wouldn't even help much. He didn't even know how far they'd walked, he had been so damn distracted.

"Well," he breathed, "We're lost. No big deal. After all, Mello was lost, and he found us, didn't he?" Mello just scowled. Matt was trying not to let on how worried he was, and, hands in pockets, began to stroll back down the road, the way (he hoped) they had come.

**A/N: Yes. AU backstory is confusing, deal with it. It won't matter much in this story anyway, though, so we're good. :3 I went back and actually re-edited this a bit (7/7/10) so let me know what you think? Constructive criticism is really appreciated. I apologize for the shortness, but I really can't fix that much now, sorry.**

**Reviews make me ecstatic for the rest of the day. Just sayin'. :)**


	2. Houses & Poles

**A/N: This is slightly longer, I think I'll try and keep them near this size from now on. Again, any mistakes or such, let me know and I'll fix 'em! **

**No disclaimer because I've already done that, dammit, and I'm not doing it again.**

Matt, Mello, and Rena were slightly lost. But just slightly_._

At least, that's what Matt had said. He hadn't told the truth, but he hadn't exactly lied, either. Yes, they had absolutely no idea where on God's green earth they were, but this was _Charleston_. A big, bustling, tourist attraction on-a-stick. Sooner or later, he knew, they'd run in to someone who actually had a sense of direction (or a GPS) and ask for directions. He really wasn't worried a bit.

Mello and Rena walked a little behind Matt as he swaggered confidently ahead, making every turn with an air of processed confidence. They passed house after house, not a restaurant or hotel to be found. Actually, for that matter, it didn't even look like anyone had lived in the surrounding structures since the civil war. The old buildings were falling apart, the roofs sagging and the majestic columns holding the elaborate balconies were covered in mold and dirt. The once-perfect paint on the houses was peeling, faded and abandoned. That was the perfect word for this part of the city: Abandoned. The homes reeked of neglect, lining the street in a row of memories. Weeds pushed up between courtyard cobblestones, turning into bushes and small trees behind the mourning eaves. Trees lined the streets, Spanish moss dangling from the overgrown branches.

I bet it's full of chiggers, Rena thought, glaring at the gray masses above her head. Just thinking about bugs made her skin crawl. Mello was walking beside her, absolutely silent save the constant crunch of chocolate and slight creak of leather. He was wearing the omnipresent leather vest along with those hideous laced pants. She grimaced again, maybe he'd let her be his stylist for a day? She doubted it. Rena took small comfort in the fact he'd left the feathery jacket behind.

Matt turned around. "Quiet today, aren't we? What's up?" Rena could have growled. Her feet hurt, she was hungry, and she was starting to get _sweaty._ Mello ignored the redhead as well, icy blue eyes staring straight ahead, never losing the solid _click-click-click_ rhythm of his black boots. Matt sighed and turned back around, blowing a lock of hair out of his view as he did so. He took a left turn, crossing the street, turning on to what was apparently "Charliewood Blvd".

Charliewood Boulevard, it seemed, was an old strip mall slash amusement park slash tourist attraction, probably new in the sixties. Time hadn't played nice here, either - all the shops were in the same state as the houses they had passed earlier. The attractions on the narrow lane seemed to have the same themes; cartoon characters and old murals of princesses adorned the storefronts. The paint was chipped and the entire place was dirty and disheveled, but Mattcould still recognize the characters from old animated children's movies.

The one old attraction that caught Matt's eye was an awfully yellow 'manor' at the end of the long street. It wasn't in any better condition than the other rides, shops, or eateries, but it was... Open? Who would even attempt the upkeep of this old place, out in the middle of nowhere, part of a poorly disguised plot to reel in the tourists (and, of course, their money)? He cocked his head, stopped squarely in the middle of the cracked street, staring thoughtfully at the one remaining element of Charliewood. The white trim was no longer white, the mustard yellow paint barely remaining - but the lights were on, and the place was clean (well, the steps were swept, at least). It almost seemed to sparkle in Matt's eyes, the one spot of life in the dilapidated territory.

"Hey... _Hey_! Matt!" Matt snapped out of his thoughts, turning to face Mello, who was glaring at the boy stopped in the middle of the road.

"We're kind of _walking_ here, what's got you so distracted? Staring at nothing, are we?"

"Look, Mels, down at the end of the road. I think... I think it's open."

"Open? Here?"

"There are lights on. It's at least a _little_ cleaner than the rest, isn't it? I say we check it out."

"Why on God's blue earth would we ever even consider attempting to fathom maybe thinking about perhaps doing _that_?"

Matt sighed, rolling his eyes at the ever cynical, dramatic, sarcastic blonde.

"Hello, Mello, if it's open, there's going to be someone in there, smartass. We can, oh, I don't know, ask where the hell we are?"

Mello smirked. "We're a quarter of the way down Charliewood Boulevard, facing an abandoned old gimmick to make a quick buck off gullible tourists that you actually want to go in."

Rena, on the other hand, was excited. "Really, Matt? You think there's someone in there? Like, we can go back home? Totally seriously? God, that's great! Let's go!" She danced around the two boys, sandals clacking on the worn pavement.

"Hey, Mello, look's like that's two out of three. What are you afraid of anyway, Oh Great Mafia Boss?"

"There's no mafia in Charleston, dumbass."

"Suuuure there isn't," Matt teased, "I suppose that's why you're here?"

Rena pouted, wanting to hurry up and get somewhere she could sit down, tired of the boys' flirting. "Hellooo, I'm going in, so come or not, whatever." She stormed down the road in a huff, the effect somewhat ruined when her sandal flipped off of her manicured foot a few yards away.

"So, Mello, looks like majority rules. We're going in." Matt grinned.

"Not in the mafia, it doesn't," Mello muttered.

"Great, good thing there's no mafia in Charleston, then." Matt grabbed Mello's hand and started pulling him down the road after Rena, who was already nearly halfway there. Mello sighed dejectedly, still nibbling at his chocolate bar, but allowed the gamer to pull him down the street anyway.

Matt stopped at the foot of the four stairs leading up to the front of the manor. Mello didn't let Matt release his hand, trying to win back some form of the dominance he had before Matt dragged him unmercifully down the road. They stood together in front of the house, observing Rena, who dramatically lounged on the bottom steps, one forearm flung over her face, a steady stream of complaints audible beneath it. Matt noticed for the first time the cut outs of movie characters carefully set up behind cracked windows, rows of them all around the front of the house.

"Hey, Mels, check this out." Mello's eyes flicked upward, seeing only cracked paint and filthy glass.

"Seriously, Matt, that's so boring I'm going to go commit suicide."

"Look! See the old silhouettes?"

"….No."

"I don't see anything, Matt." Rena's self-pitying moaning from below the boys had failed to attract any attention, so she straightened up and decided to join the conversation.

"You guys are whack. There's no way you can miss those." Matt was starting to get aggravated. Couldn't they just cooperate for once?

"Matt... There's nothing there _to_ miss." Mello was totally disinterested, but his eyes opened a bit wider when he saw Matt's face, staring straight as a window that had absolutely nothing in it.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Matt was looking straight at a dwarf (possibly one of seven) set up in a window almost straight in front of them. "What do you mean there's nothing to miss; it's right _there_!"

Mello was a bit worried; concern actually showed in his normally icy eyes.

"You're right, Matt, I see it now." Mello was just playing along, and Matt knew it, too, but he decided to ignore the blonde that was only humoring him.

"Good. That's great." Matt started up the steps. "We're going in now."

As the couple marched up the stairs, Rena stood all the way up and tripped lightly up the incline, balancing on one foot in front of the doors. Matt grabbed the overly ornate gold handle and pulled, coaxing the heavy door open. They slipped in, feet falling onto lush carpet.

Inside the door, Matt faced a long hallway with two doorways leading into a large, empty ballroom on the left. At the very end there was an elevator, currently on another floor, and there was one door on the right, bearing a sign that read EMPLOYEES ONLY in black letters. The ceiling was high, but the hall was narrow. The only light came from a fake chandelier dangling above their heads. The whole room was gold and white, the walls glinting faintly in the electric candlelight.

When Mello's black boots hit the carpet, faint puffs of dust rose and set him coughing. The walls were white and a nasty yellowish color, the paint cracked and peeling. There was an old chandelier dangling precariously above his head, full of candles with wax dripping down the metal rim. Spider webs in the corners – ugh. He violently bit off the corner of his chocolate bar, crunching noisily. Rena saw the same scene as Mello; the place was falling apart, just like every other house on every other street in this part of the city.

Matt started walking, Mello not far behind and Rena taking up the rear. Matt poked his head around the first door on the left. The ballroom was clean and empty, save for a row of poles leading down the width of the room and disappearing into another opening across from the boy. Matt walked the rest of the way in and noticed a sign on the wall.

WELCOME

TO THE HOUSE OF WONDERS

PICK A POLE

FLICK THE SWITCH

AND FOLLOW THE PATH

DO NOT WANDER

PLEASE KEEP YOUR SMALL CHILDREN IN ORDER

ENJOY YOUR RIDE

"See?" Matt said, "I told you it was open."

"What is it, anyway?" Rena whined.

"It's... Remember that time your dad took you to Dizzey?"

"Uh... Yeah?"

"And we went on that boat ride, about an Not-Large World or something."

"Oh, that. I hated it."

"Well, I think this is similar to that ride, except like a moving sidewalk kind of thing. Now, go pick a pole."

"Matt, we are _not _doing this." Mello's chocolate was almost gone.

"Why ever not? Rena's already got a spot." Matt jerked his hand back to the attraction behind him, where Rena was desperately trying to decide which handhold was the least filthy.

"Matt, are you insane?"

"Yes."

"We're not doing this!"

Matt decided to switch tactics. "You don't want to ride with me, Mello?" Matt brushed his gloved hand down Mello's scarred cheek.

"No."

Matt pressed Mello against the wall. "Are you sure about that?" His breath was moving Mello's feminine hair back and forth across the older boy's neck.

"The hell, Matt, your sister's right there."

"Do I care?" Matt started move his hands along Mello's neck. His gloves were cold, and Mello shivered, slightly angry at how Matt could control him like this; no matter how much he wanted it, this wouldn't do.

"Damn it all, Matt, I'll ride your effing pole. Get off me."

Mello pushed Matt away, still blushing, and grabbed the pole a few rows behind Rena.

"You're the one beside me," He said, refusing to look at the redhead.

Matt leaned off the track and kicked a lever near the sign. The strip of floor the poles occupied jolted and started to move toward the dark door on the other side of the room.

"That's the way it should be," Matt mumbled, as they disappeared into the House Of Wonders.

**A/N: Okay. I think this is a bit too descriptive – I'm an adjective whore. Thoughts?**

**I also edited this chapter (7/8/10) so let me know how I did – I'm really getting serious about writing now and am trying to improve, so some constructive criticism would be great.**

**Mumble is such an awkward word.**

**Every time someone reads this and doesn't review, a small child gets stuck in an elevator's doors.**


	3. Bickering & Falling

**A/N: I went back and added a bit, so I'm sorry if it gets confusing and please let me know if anything gets contradicted or is wrong. **

The old doorway swallowed them up in a matter of seconds, effectively blocking out all light. Matt kept his grip on the filthy gold pole he couldn't even see anymore; his goggles were only in the way now, so he pulled them off and let them hang around his neck. The pressing darkness was strange. You'd think at least a little light would come from the room they recently vacated, but apparently not...

Suddenly, all the overhead lights came on with a small pop. Damn, they were bright! Matt threw his arm across his eyes, blindly puling his goggles back on. His eyes adjusted quickly from years of flashing monitors, but because Mello and Rena were more of the outdoorsy type, they were still half blind.

Matt took a moment to take in his surroundings. He found himself in a long, tunnel-like room. The walls were brick, painted in a variety of assaulting bright colors and curved overhead, forming an enlongated dome. The poles extended beyond the ancient fluorescent lights that were still partially blinding his part members. On either side, murals adorned the walls, depicting frogs and smiling clouds and princesses and world dominatio-flowers.

No music played at all. The grinding of ancient gears stopped as the track suddenly halted.

It was really, really silent until Mello started crunching again.

"Mello, where do you keep all those chocolate bars? Your clothes are hideously skin tight."

"Rena, that is for me to know and for you to never find out. _Ever_."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What's it sound like it's supposed to mean?"

Matt kept looking around while Rena and Mello continued bickering over the blonde's fashion sense. The track seemed to extend on forever, but the light was yellow, his goggles were orange, and the murals were hypnotic so he couldn't really tell. There was a door up ahead, speakers every few yards on the wall. A groove between the track and a walkway beneath the bright pictures revealed sharp, slightly rusty gears. Matt leaned over and caught sight of them before hurriedly re-establishing balance safely on the track. Wouldn't want to fall on those. Hell, wouldn't want to touch those.

Then there was a huge flash and a POP; hollow like the sound of fireworks but deep and powerful like thunder. The lights went out.

Matt lost his balance again, disoriented, but managed to straighten up after a moment.

"Damn it, not again!" Rena had pushed – no, shoved Mello into a bad mood. He kicked the pole in front of him, a clang reverberating through the nearly spherical tunnel.

Matt couldn't see anything (again) and pushed his goggles up, forcing his bangs into a spiky mess; not that anyone knew, as no one could even see their own hands. He stuck his arm out and started blindly waving it around until he smacked Mello clear across the face.

"Ouch, quit it, you son of a cock! I'm disfigured enough already, aren't I?"

"Not really. Don't you mean son of a bitch?"

"No! I said son of a cock, and that's what I mean!" A furious blush rose onto Mello's face; again, not that anyone noticed.

"Okay." Matt shrugged. What went on in Mello's head, no one knew... Matt wasn't so sure he wanted to, either. Mello really needed to calm down. "Want me to make it better?" He ran his hand slowly from Mello's temple to his jaw. Mello resisted the impulse to swat Matt's hand away; no one could see it anyway...

"I'm 93.3% sure that won't help." Mello leaned into the redhead's touch.

Rena realized what was going on behind her. "I swear to GOD that if you two get any more romantic than that, I'm going to bludgeon you both in the face with Dad's pancakes, frozen, then go and throw up in a storm drain somewhere far, far away!" Ugh. More shrieking.

"Well, in my opinion, my face has been bludgeoned enough today, don't you think, Matt?" Mello screamed back at the much younger, weaker, female. He couldn't even see her.

"Where's your damn PSP, Matt?"

"Left it at home."

"Wait, what?"

"Don't have it."

"Wha – why – who finally convinced you to do that?"

"She wouldn't come unless I did."

"Damn. DS?"

"Nope."

"Well that's fucking useful, dipshit!"

"Not really."

"Shut up!" Mello's cries echoed all around the enclosure. The effect really was creepy, and Matt decided it was time to get out of here; they were still lost, and now stuck on top of that. He could hear Mello lecturing Rena about her lack of a cellphone (Mello didn't have one either, hypocrite) and decided they wouldn't miss him for a few minutes.

Matt carefully reached for the pole in front of him. He followed the line past Rena, going further into the tunnel, placing his feet oh-so-carefully so as not to misplace a step and fall. He still couldn't see anything and only had a sense of distance from Mello and Rena's fading voices. He kept on walkig in the utter darkness for what seemed like forever, but there wasn't an end to the rubber and vinyl under his feet. The distant shrieks were only echoes now. If there were three feet between poles, and he'd passed about nintey three... Matt was a good hundred yards from them. He's have to turn around.

_I'll go back soon_, he thought, _This thing doesn't end_. He took one more step and -

_GAH_

There wasn't anything there. Nothing. No track, to pole ahead to grab onto. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't call for help, couldn't even hear Rena's angry shrieks anymore. Matt's hands scrabbled behind him, desperately searching for something to hold on to, but finding nothing.

Breathlessly, he fell.

"DAMN! I HATE kids!"

"Yeah, well... I hate you!"

"Please, for the love of God, just SHUT UP!" Mello was nearly begging, why did women have to exist? He was fine, perfectly _fine_ without females, he had a uke, he was just fine 'n dandy... And Rena was still rambling on in the background.

Mello turned to his right. "Matt, please, just make her shut up... Matt?"

Come on! Where was Matt? That was just like Matt to wander off and leave him with this... child. Mello resisted the urge to pull out his gun... Wait, he hadn't brought his gun. Matt's request. Damn redhead.

"You're only nineteen yourself and why don't you go buy yourself a cellphone if you need one so bad? God, why didn't I just go to the mall with Stacia, I need to go to Hot Topic, they've got a sale on for lord's sake! Stupid Matt, dragging me out here, 'we'll just have lunch,' he said, 'it won't be that bad,' he said..." Etcetera etcetera etcetera. Mello was ready to pull his hair out – that was, if he could stand to ruin his pretty head again.

"HEY! Would you please shut your trap and listen to me for once?"

Wounded, Rena sullenly closed her mouth

"Matt is gone. I have to find him. You stay here."

"No! He's _my _brother!"

Mello grit his teeth. "Maybe, but he's all _mine _now."

"Just because you have your little guy thing going on doesn't mean-"

"No." Mello's voice was cold. "I grew up with him. I watched him when he was sick. I helped him with his stupid little problems, I played those retarded games with him. I was the one waiting when he was flung into the damn orphanage, and most of all, I'm the one who got him out of that place. You wouldn't even know you had a brother without me. You think those 'parents' of yours would have told you? They didn't even know how your biologicals died, nevermind that you had an older brother. Our 'little guy thing' is more than you know and more than you'll ever have. Matt is _mine_, and I'm going to go find him." And with that, he turned and started trekking backwards.

Matt hit the hard concrete floor with a sickening thud. He landed hard on his side, but luckily the fall wasn't too deep; only five or six feet, maybe. He got up slowly, clutching his bruised shoulder, glad no one was around. Then he remembered where he was. The track was too far above him; he couldn't get back up, couldn't even hook his fingers on the top, the distance was too far. He had to be careful; it was still pitch black, and who knew what else was on the bottom with him. Matt shuddered as he recalled the sharp gears from earlier. Hopefully Mello and Rena were smarter than to separate or go exploring like he had.

"Idiot." Matt growled as his probing fingers hit the tender spot on his back. He turned around and carefully began to walk forward – there wasn't much else to do. He had only shuffled a few feet before his boot hit something hard on the floor. Matt stopped and put a hand forward, smacking it into a firm wall only inches from his face.

"Good, at least it ends somewhere."

He puled his hand back down to his pocket, but before it went far, he brushed against something else. A... doorknob? Matt frowned. His hands went exploring again, encountering the a doorjamb, hinges, and yes, that was definitely a doorknob. Matt grabbed it, and it was cold – he could feel it through his thick gloves, would have nearly burned him if he hadn't been wearing them. It was smooth and perfectly round.

He grabbed it and turned.

The door was sealed, that much was certain, seeing as it opened into a corridor filled with light. God, it was so bright! Matt squinted, his eyes watering painfully, and he sneezed. Several times.

His eyes adjusted after a few minutes, and he saw the hall properly. The décor matched the rest of the mansion; gold and white, painfully bright (but maybe that was just him), and slightly sparkling. A few staircases led off at random intervals, but the hall wasn't very long. Matt managed to start walking forward, hands trailing along the wallpaper on either side, feet landing softly on thick carpet.

He found himself at the foot of the last staircase and started to climb, hands sliding along the worn wooden railing.

This could be interesting.

**A/N: Lame ending is lame. Edited this too (7/8/10), so constructive criticism is really appreciated, just like the previous chapters. Also, if anyone is confused or has questions, or maybe wants to point out errors in grammar and spelling, don't hesitate and I'll fix it.**

**Thanks to everyone for the many reviews and alerts! I really appreciate it, so much, and I love getting those e-mails and reading what you have to say.**

**Let me know what you think, good or bad – can't hurt, right?**


	4. Stairs & People

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, things have just been so hectic lately.**

Rena sat pouting with he rback against the pole, arms crossed, and legs splayed out in front of her.. Mello had stalked off in a murderous rage a few minutes earlier, and now she was stuck in the pitch black darkness, with no idea where anyone was. Matt had left her, Mello had left her (no surprises there), and she was all alone in the pitch black darkness, left for dead.

They hated her. She'd tell Mom – and then they'd get it.

But of course, she was conveniently forgetting their legal-adult status. And the fact that it wasn't Matt's mom, and getting Mello to listen to _anyone_ was a challenge. Her eyes were closed – not that it made any difference whether or not they were open. It was dark in here. Still grumbling, Rena decided to form an action plan, just like her health teacher taught her.

Step one: Identify the problem.

Step two: Consider your options.

Step three: … Consider your values...

Step four: …... didn't she have a test tomorrow?...

Step five: Mello... could be... kinda pretty... not that she thought of him like that...

Step six: ...zzz...zz...z..

Mello had left Rena back on the track, performing the ever so important duty of 'waiting for Matt'. Gullible little girl-slut. He snorted with pleasure at his own wit. And cunning. And luscious hair.

No no, stay focused, Mello reminded himself, hopping down from the track to the walkway running along the wall. He was oblivious to the sharp gears protruding from the space below – only dumb luck (and luscious hair) prevented him from being impaled before he got anywhere near Matt. But, of course, Mello had no idea just how lucky he was.

He ran his long fingers along the wall, searching for the door he knew was just ahead. Ugh - he'd rather not think about what was on that wall; when was the last time someone had cleaned down here? Mello shuddered at the thought, resolving to throw out this outfit as soon as he got back to the apartment he shared with Matt. Matt wouldn't mind – Mello could always buy new clothes, and, besides, he could always wear Matt's (he was conveniently forgetting his other clothes).

Grinning devilishly at the thought of being in Matt's pants, Mello nearly failed to notice the ridge his hand had skimmed across. He stopped and examined the section more carefully. It was, indeed, a door, but an awfully small one. _It's a good thing I've got such a great figure,_ Mello thought, hands traveling the door until he found a handle on the right side. He grabbed it and leaned back until it opened. Mello slipped inside, hunched over, surprised at how little the corridor was. His entire body was folded up in one way or another.

Instinctively, Mello reached behind him for a light switch, finding none. He grumbled about that for a bit, all the while tracing his way through the service hallway. _It's a good thing i'm not claustrophobic_, he thought as his blond hair attracted yet another cobweb. The ceiling was low, and there was maybe a foot of space from one wall to the other. Cramped and hurting, Mello stomped onwards.

"Ouch!" Mello's angry footwork resulted in a stubbed toe – he'd reached the end. Finding no knob to turn, he kicked the door again and again, until it finally opened a little, letting light in through a small crack. Squinting, he stuck his hand through and immediately encountered stacks of linen sheets.

"A closet... Great..."

There was still a ways to go before he could fit through the door, so Mello resignedly sat down and began moving swaths of fabric out of his way.

Matt was halfway up the staircase. There was still a way to go – the overwhelming grandeur of the mansion called for stretches of carpeted stairs, most definitely unneeded. This particular run of carpet was red and gold – he sensed a recurring color scheme. It was definitely designer – gold, white, red and hints of silver. Looked like Martha Stewart threw up.

Then, looking around, he realized there was a large window ahead, before the next course of stairs began. He ran up the rest of the stairs, regretting it in an instant as his shoulder began to throb again. But he made it to the overly large bay window sporting a cushioned window seat, and sat down on the dusty white fabric. He turned to look out the window, maybe he could get a sense of direction, bearings on where the hell they were, but...

Nothing.

Not nothing like just a white blank, or nothing like stretches of trees, but just... nothing. A sort of billowing, shimmery nothing. Like a deep fog, but more opaque, and brighter. There were random washes of color, faint hints of sparkling gold or barely-there splashes of red, but those were rare and tricky to the eye. It was almost like a magic eye poster – if you sort of... Unfocused your eyes, and acted like you didn't care...

No, it was hard not to pay attention when obviously paying attention. He could barely make out the coast, and a swath of green, but they were gone and he was trying too hard again.

Matt turned away from the window and got up, ready to start walking again. He still had no idea where the house was, or even where in the house he was. He started walking again, just to do something. Matt's stomach growled - at least Mello, wherever he was, had chocolate.

Matt turned a corner, wandering through the house aimlessly. It was an endless network of hallways and corridors – the entire house was a system designed to allow quick access from anywhere to anywhere else. To and outsider, of course, it was just plain confounding. He was sure he'd been here before – but no, he wasn't, there was nothing to mark one door from the next. Frustrated, he grabbed another door at random and yanked it open quite violently.

He stopped just short of falling again.

The door opened onto to nothing. A story below, he could see a maze of stairs, crisscrossing and overlapping in various places. There was no way to distinguish one from the next – the whole thing could have been one big staircase, doubling back onto itself numerous times until it was as twisted up into itself as a pot of spaghetti.

But for the more important matter – the lack of a floor in front of him.

What now? Matt had finally found something other than the endless hallways with doors that opened onto more identical mazes – he couldn't just leave his possible way out. If anything, he hadn't even known what floor he was on, but now he at least knew he was definitely rather high up.

Frowning, Matt stepped back, closed the door, and opened it again. The stairs were still there, obviously, but you can't blame him for wondering. He closed it again and opened the door to the left of it. Another long, no doubt convoluted hallway with more carbon-copy doors.

Matt opened the first door again. The cavernous space extended beyond any of the other doors, but he could still get into the next hallway from the door over?

Okay, this place was strange.

Like he hadn't already figured that out. A long time ago.

Matt stepped back from the door and took out his pocketknife. He then slashed a long line from one corner of the door to the other, the paint curling away beneath the sharp blade. With a long strip of paint and wood now missing, the white door stood out in the hall of identical entrances. Matt, content with his brillancy, folded up his pocketknife and turned back to the other door.

Mello finally managed to clear the door, and stumbled out of the closet, landing on an old brown carpet. He wrinkled his nose in distaste as a cloud of dirt and dust, enveloped him, sneezing wildly. He growled at the motes floating in the air and stood up. This entire place was disgusting. He had to get out soon, or he'd die from nonexistent asthma complications. And, he was almost out of chocolate. Inexcusable.

He was halfway down the hall when he realized there was a window ahead, and a door at the end of the hall. He peered out of the cracked glass, but it was too filthy to see anything. This place sucked. When was the last time anyone had cleaned up here? Never mind that, they were probably the only ones who had even been in the house for years. There was dirt and dust everywhere – Mello was surprised there weren't cockroaches, or mice... rats... spiders. He shuddered, clawing at his hair, still feeling the insect's abandoned structures entangling themselves in his perfect locks. It was freezing, too. If he had any chocolate, it would have been like, frozen by now! Er, almost. Today was the wrong day to forget his feathery overcoat at home... It would have looked awfully nice with these boots, too.

No, focus. You're finding Matt.

_If I were an extremely sexy redheaded gamer with terrible fashion sense, what would I do?_ Mello screwed up his face in concentration again, trying to think, but he forgot to stop walking and promptly ran into the sharp corner of the wall. So he kicked it, which of course made everything better.

Mello threw the closest door open and stomped inside to find himself in a large corridor, leading off to god-knows-where, lit with strange electric chandeliers and with a staircase on either side. They both led up the the second floor, which you could see above from the level Mello was on. The whole place gave off that air of "This is old and scary. Don't touch or you'll be cursed forever." If you replaced the wallpaper and carpet with stone, maybe hung a few whips or torture devices from the walls, it would be a very convincing castle dungeon.

Don't think about whips, Mello.

Find Matt, Mello.

Don't think about Matt and whips, Mello. No. Bad boy.

Mello stalked past the bare walls and started up a random flight of stairs, still trying to get those sexy- disgusting thoughts out of his mind. He was so caught up in his own mind he barely noticed the throngs of people he was shoving through. Stupid tourists - get out of my way, I have to find Matt.

Whaituhsekkund.

People?

Mello slowly turned around to see not throngs of tourists, but a single couple already nearly off the stairs and onto the main floor. He turned and sprinted up to the second level, peering over the balcony just in time to see them calmly walk out the door, holding hands and laughing quietly. The man closed the door carefully behind them, leaving Mello as freaked out as he had ever allowed himself to be.

That was definitely strange.

This place was screwing with him.

**A/N: Minor corrections on 7/8/10. I think this was the most fun to write yet – psychotic narcissistic!Mello is the best. What do you think? Constructive criticism is, as always, adored. Let me know what you really liked and what you didn't. I'm trying to get better, okay?**

**Every review saves a puppy from certain death by oatmeal.**


	5. Rooms & Fire

**A/N: It's been five chapters now, better stick another disclaimer in just to be safe, no?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, nor will I ever. Nothing is mine other than this screwy plot, my laptop and the über sexy keychain I keep my flash drive on.**

Rena woke with a start. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, stretching tiredly before realizing where she was still was. She had no idea how much time had passed since she first fell asleep - hopefully it hadn't been that long, seeing as she was still stuck in this godforsaken tunnel. Rena tried to remember, but she was still a bit slow from that bit of a nap she'd captured.

Then it came to her – Matt was lost, and Mello had run off to find him. And here she was, all alone with nowhere to go. How long had she been asleep? Couldn't have been that long – or had it? Maybe they'd found each other and left without her – that would be just like them, too.  
She sniffed disdainfully - she was Renata Jeevas Piper, and she didn't need their gay asses to get out of this place. Rena pulled herself to her feet, standing only with the aid of a tarnished pole. Ouch, and she was stiff, too - today was just not her day, her feet still hurt and walking wasn't helping either.  
Lurching along the track, tripping over her own feet and running into more of the old handholds, Rena did what neither of the boys had even thought of - she made her way back the way they had came, to the grand entrance and the beginning of the track.  
It was tough going, too. Rena's feet hurt (still!), and her eyes were sore from lack of light - her skirt was surely filthy, and her shoulder ached from leaning on the hard metal for... Well, for however long she had been asleep. She mentally kicked herself for napping in the first place - she should have known better, thinking about Health class in a dark tunnel after walking all day. Health wasn't interesting in the least, except for the lack of supervision. The only thing it was good for was all the free time to gossip and text the unlucky ones stuck in advanced maths.  
"Ouch!" Rena, absorbed in thought, had smacked head on into a plate, suddenly appearing in front of her. "Owwwwoo," she moaned, rubbing her bruised forehead, "When did that get there?".

The obvious answer, of course, was just then.  
After a few moments of investigation, it appeared that a huge metal door had closed over the track - as far as Rena could tell, there was no way past, and it was as cold and hard as an ice sculpture of... Something. Like, a freakin' swan or something. Totally.  
So what was she to do now? She couldn't go back to where she had fallen asleep, how would she find it? She sure didn't have the strength to get through this plate of metal, and so there was no choice but to leave the track all together.

Mello was still in the dungeon-like room, standing at the balcony watching the heavy doors swing shut. And when they finally did close after the young couple, he still hadn't moved.  
Had they noticed him? If not, why? And then how could he have seen them? Why were they in here, and more importantly, was anyone else?  
But still: Where was Matt?  
Mello finally shook his head and removed his hands from the balcony's railing. It didn't matter if anyone else was here – he only needed to find Matt, and then worry about getting out. And once they were safe in their apart over the market, perhaps he'd contemplate the mysteries of this abandoned tourist attraction; if he had time, that was. His heavy boots stirred up clouds of dust as he left the room. There was a large glass door behind him, but he couldn't see through – this place just kept getting weirder. As he closed the door behind him, Mello noticed something else - this room had a different feel than the others he'd recently passed through. In fact, there was nothing grimy or dirty about this room, though it was dark beyond the illuminating sparkles.  
Glimmering ribbons of white fabric hung from the ceiling, moving with an unfelt breeze. They were more like anorexic sheets than ribbons, really, but they were sparkling and waving about, all around him, obstructing his view of the room itself. Not that there was much to see anyway; the entire space was full of them. It didn't seem to have any purpose, either – this room was pointless, and just that was intoxicating. Who would do this in the first place? There was no purpose, no driving force to the room, and yet here it was – a little piece of selfishness someone had spent so much time on, then carelessly forgotten about.

This was a waste of space, and had no use at all, and that was what intoxicated Mello – the blonde knew immediately, his id **[**as in id, ego, superego**]**__understanding the need for such a place instantaneously - and that was what enticed Mello the most.

He moved slowly through the first waves of fabric, swaths of white obscuring his vision, but what else was there to see? They all moved in unison, swaying back and forth in a way that coalesced into the vision of a rippling pool. The glimmer was near overwhelming, pressing into your eyes, but matched the swaths of white with a perfection that made the entire effect madly calming. Even Mello couldn't be angry, or determined, or feeling at all in a place like this. He didn't even crave chocolate constantly like before – his last bar slipped from his fingers somewhere in the waves, and though he was frightfully hungry, he didn't care.

He ran his pale hands along the nearest ribbon – it moved accordingly, but as soon as he removed his fingers, it went back to normal, moving along with the rest. Mello smiled contentedly, and moved further in to the space. The sheets were so white, yet still had dimension, and shadow - they reminded him of something... someone, now who was it? He couldn't quite recall, maybe it wasn't anyone important, anyway...

Suddenly, it hit him with the force of a speeding cement truck in Wales, but he barely noticed with his senses so dull.

_Near._

Of course it was Near – the little bitch, how could Mello have forgotten about Near? What was wrong with him now, that he would have forgotten... He would have liked to, of course, but when one has been beaten down so thoroughly, one tends to hold a festering grudge. In fact, Near was the one who could draw such a ferocious reaction from the emotional boy. Matt could too, of course, but he had been so indifferent to the green eyes for years, and Near was so infuriating, the cool disapproval, the pajamas...

Mello snapped back to reality, fists clenched.

He had a purpose, and he had a need to fulfill it. He couldn't let Near win, couldn't let Near distract him again, and again, and again has he had when they were children. Baring his teeth, Mello strode forward, shoving curtains of white out of his way, trying to find the way out of this room that symbolized everything he hated in the world. Mello ignored the temptation to stop and admire the glitter that adorned the very air – refused to be drawn in to the whirlpool that was failure, and failure only.

He threw fabric out of the way, giving it no respect whatsoever, wishing he could do more to disgrace this room, but having no time. He needed to get out, get Matt, and leave this house. Now.

And then, suddenly, he was out.

The space had just ended, and when he turned around there were no sheets at all, and no glitter on the poured concrete floor, just a desolately empty space. Snarling, he turned back to face an oak door embedded in the marble wall in front of him, and as he left he shot one last growl at the tiny space before slamming the door behind him.

After taking a few moments to cool down, Mello found himself in a new room, carpeted in dark blue with a large window to the left. After a moment of thought, he stepped over to it and looked out, expecting it to be dirty and broken like all the others. This was different - he could see out like any normal window. Nearly, anyway, the view was clear as clear could be, almost as if there were no glass. He could see an expanse of glimmering blue, a purplish sky, but no sun or shadows, so no indication of the time of day. No ships on the water, no waves either – if this were real, they were obviously very far out at sea.

Mello couldn't believe this, and chalked it up to another of the illusions the house threw at his starved mind. He turned and proceeded to observe the rest of the room. There seemed to be a light blue and silver color scheme, not nearly as gaudy as his previous encounters. Speaking of counters, there was one over on the other wall, though he couldn't see beyond it, and two more doors on either side. A painting of a sailboat and a few more chairs were scattered throughout the room, completing the overall effect of a dentist's waiting room, lacking only magazines and the antiseptic smell. Mello was terribly bored by this room and left nearly instantly. It unsettled him, and he didn't know why.

Matt was still wandering around the maze of hallways, having left the cavern full of stairs long ago. He wasn't really worried about being hopelessly lost – or at least, that was what he told himself. Mostly, he was worried about Mello, and Rena. If they had left the track and tried to find him, they would have to be in nearly the same predicament as he was - and that wasn't good news at all. If they were smart, they would have stayed and waited for him in the dark; maybe the light would have come on and they could have finished the ride and left... But it was still his fault they'd entered the house in the first place. What he'd been thinking, Matt didn't know, but they were all involved now and there was nothing to do but try and fix it.

He made another turn and found himself at the end of the maze – that, or he'd finally reached one of the dead ends, but either way there was one last door at the end, and why not enter? He pushed it open and found himself in a huge room filled with pews. The ceiling was high and most of the décor was stained glass and red fabric. There were drapes on the walls and a pulpit at the end of the aisle that went between rows of pews. Beside the dark pulpit, there was a large cross with three ribbons hanging from the arms – the overall tone of the room was infinitely foreboding. Almost no light entered through the saturated windows that depicted various scenes Matt could only assume were biblical.

Matt wasn't very religious – he was a genius, and there was no proof of a god in his life. Mello, on the other hand, had always been a devout Catholic, mainly stemming from his rosary; the only thing he'd ever had from his mother. But here Matt was, standing in the middle of a church, and he needed help – trying certainly wouldn't hurt. Mello was a very private person, and had never let Matt see him pray or anything else god-related - the only thing it was good for at Wammy's was being made fun of and deemed inferior to Near - but Matt wasn't an idiot and had a general sense of the way things were supposed go.

He chose a pew near the middle of the cathedral and was contemplating how to begin when a loud shrieking noise came from above. Matt looked up and saw the humongous cross leaning forward, looming over him. He tried to run, but his legs wouldn't move as it came closer, struggling against the bolts that held it in place. The inner supports began to snap with loud cracks, like gunshots in the dark. Matt wrenched himself out of the pew and leapt over the one in front of him, sprinting along the rows to the front of the church. The cross was nearly down now, squealing loudly as the wood protested. Matt dove behind the baptizing tub and found a plain plywood door he hoped would protect him. He wrenched it open and barrel-rolled into the adjoining room.

In this room, it was absolutely silent. Nothing happened. There was no decoration, other doors, no carpet or window. He felt no sounds or senses either, but when Matt believed an appropriate amount of time had passed, he slowly reopened the door to see the church in shambles.

When the cross had fallen, it landed diagonally along both rows of pews. The entire room stank of smoke - everything was crushed to pieces. Splinters of wood littered the floor, the glass was all broken, and the drapes were ripped to tatters. The pulpit had caught fire somehow. From Matt's field of vision, he could see fire licking up the walls, scorching paper and fabric. In a few moments, the entire room would be ablaze, and anything left inside would never survive it. Matt couldn't help but feel that he had caused it all – an intense sense of foreboding overcame him and he could not move. He glimpsed a necklace hanging from the ceiling, swaying in the heat from the fire.

When the church was nearing inferno, he left.

**A/N: Edit as of 7/8/10. I need to proofread these more closely, there was quite a bit I had missed. Here's where things start to get more, er, screwy. I apologize for any extremely long descriptive passages, but I need them to picture exactly what I had in mind, because it's very vivid. Bear with me.**

**Reviews, please? Constructive criticism is great, any problems or questions you had, and I would absolutely adore hearing what you think.**


	6. Delusion & Reunion

**A/N: I can't express how sorry I am about the wait! I was just so bus- -shotbrickedmurdered-**

Rena hopped off the track, stepping dangerously close to the gears she didn't even know were there. She landed hard in her rather inappropriate shoes, but was more or less unrattled by the overall experience of the House of Wonders; so far, at least. Rena may possess more than her share of vanity, but she had a good sense of self preservation and worked well under pressure – not to mention her immaculate fashion sense.

Not that she was under pressure, of course – she was still too busy being entirely miffed at the older boys for abandoned her altogether. Determined, she straightened and stalked down the ledge, looking for a way out of the damned tunnel. This proved to be no easy task, however, as Rena could still see nothing and straining her eyes only resulted in a field of graying spots and a ringing in her ears. She shook her head in annoyance, and continued to step forward until she stumbled upon a gap in the ledge, edges crumbling away.

"Whoops!" Rena 's arms flailed until she regained her balance, safely away from the void below.

Well, _that_ certainly hadn't been there before. There was a hole in the wall, too – when Rena put a hand out to steady herself, she felt only crumbling brick, no painted drywall over it like the rest of the cursed tunnel. She cocked her head and ran her hands across the other near parts of the tunnel. The ledge was soft under her feet, and the wall had large gaps and would crumble away at her touch. She inched back towards the track and ghosted her hands across some of the gears – not razor sharp, but dull and most definitely rusted.

This place was decaying, more so with every step.

When they had entered the House of Wonders, it had appeared dirty and neglected, but with some soap and elbow grease and perhaps a coat of paint, the place would shine in all it's glitz-and-tack glory. Now, it was obviously in a state of disrepair, much like most of the antebellum houses that lined the Charleston streets – not even close to salvageable.

She grimaced and trod on with careful footing, hoping to at least find the boys before the entire thing came crashing down upon their ears.

Matt slammed the door behind him, gasping as he sank to the floor, leaning on the wall for support. The church was burning... That rosary... No, he couldn't do it. He couldn't think about it. He was mentally incapable of pondering the situation and all it suggested lest he lose consciousness and fall back into the void that was present only when Mello was missing. Now on the floor, keeping the door shut against the inferno in the church only with his back and the clothes on it, he stopped and veered his mind away from anything about fire or Catholicism. Which, honestly, should have been much easier in this room of nothing... But it wasn't. Suddenly confused, Matt looked around, taking in the room that had just a few minutes before dulled his feelings and let him move as if in syrup. It looked the same, threadbare carpet and bleak walls, but something was different, and as he focused Matt realized what it was – something that had to do with the heat wave radiating from the door he was propped against.

Alarmed, he leapt up, fanning his rear and staring at the door with wide eyes. Yes, the doorknob was glowing incandescently and he could distinctly hear the roaring of flames, but he was most definitely surprised. No isolated element of a room had ever before affected another section of the house, but he should have known better than to assume anything about this screwed up place anyway. There were no rules here. But either way, the door was radiating heat and beginning to turn black and charred on his side. Smoke was filling the room and Matt had no time to philosophize about the intricacies of abandoned-Charleston-tourist-attractions.

Matt slung his gaze about the room, trying to find an exit, but the only way out was another locked door to his right. He forced it open with a strong kick and ran, slamming it behind him. Now, it was more important than ever that he should find Mello. Who knew where he was? Mello could be burned to Mafia fish and chips already... No, that was stupid. Mello obviously couldn't be anywhere near the burning church, or Matt would have found him already. He shook his head, trying not to breathe the thick smoke pouring into the room he had so recently vacated. Matt forgot where he had left his precious fur vest, but he honestly didn't think that mattered right this second and left it to burn . He seriously needed to concentrate on finding Rena and Mello and getting the hell out of this place before it burned right to the ground. He tried to shut the door, but the crystal doorknob had shattered and it just bounced back open, so he left it open and tried to work out a plan while walking backwards.

The situation:

He had no idea where he was

Or Mello. Or Rena, for that matter.

The mansion was burning down.

Damn it. Matt really needed to get his act together. He tried, for the first time, to retrace his steps and before long he ended up back in the dungeon-like room. By his calculations, he should have been back to the door overlooking the impossible stairways, but this was nearly as good. He'd seen people here, right? Hopefully they'd gotten out... Or were at least just hallucinations or something. Matt frowned as he tried to get up the stairs to another door. His boots were slightly melted and stuck to the floor, but it wasn't too distracting and he didn't mind, especially since he had gotten away without being grilled, medium-rare.

Mello smelled smoke.

He stopped in his tracks, surveying the immediate area outside the doctor's-office-esque room with a hand on his hip and his weight unequally distributed, looking like a model on the runway. He flipped his hair dramatically, only adding to the effect, imagining sparkles and camera flashes, and the crowd was cheering... _Mello~ Mello~!_ Oh, they were so excited and-

Augh, snap out of it. He shook his head, this time less pompously, and smacked himself before refocusing his eyes onto the flames that were threatening to eat the hallway alive right in front of him. He snorted again and attributed these increasingly frequent hallucinations to lack of sleep rather than an inflated ego and being alone all day without food or water - after all, Mello was a terribly, terribly social creature and he hadn't had any chocolate for a while now, I wonder if Matt has bought me any yet? But he's here too, I wonder if they have a swimming pool? And, damn it, the fire was still there, and Mello had an increasingly scrambled train of thought.

_Okay. FOCUS._

Think. There was a fire in front of him. The fire was undeniably real, even if the swimming pool wasn't, because he could feel the heat inching closer and hear the crackling and smell the black, black, smoke so he was right about that. What was burning again? Oh yeah, the hallway. In, um, the house. That house, yeah. The stupid house that separated him from Matt! Right! Mello had to find Matt and the annoying young one, and they'd go home and he could have some more chocolate and call up that twit Near and brag about how he single-handedly escaped from a disintegrating, abandoned, haunted house. But first he had to find Matt and not get burned to a sexy blonde crisp in the process.

Mello turned away from the advancing fire and waltzed back up the hall. He was watching his feet the entire time, trying to keep his balance and dignity and sanity and decadent figure in check.

After a seemingly ageless amount of time, thirteen random fits of giggling, six prolonged stops where he stared at absolutely nothing, and one bathroom break in a corner, Mello found himself deposited outside a set of glass doors, covered in once colorful cardboard advertisements for souvenirs that "absolutely every happy child should have!".

"Ahahaha. Look, Matt, a puppy! D'awwww." He pressed his nose up against the window, and noticed something in the shop mirror his movements. Pleasantly surprised, he put his hands on the window too, before noticing the full length mirror directly behind the adorable stuffed pet display.

A devastatingly gorgeous boy gazed back at him. Everything he did, so did the mystery sexpot! It was amazing! He was so pretty, with the blonde hair and clad in black leather and icy blue eyes, Mello couldn't tear his gaze away. Mello started giggling, blushing when the other one started laughing silently as well. Then -

"HEY! What the hell d'you think you're laughing at? Huh?" Mello's face contorted into a snarl, mirrored with what looked to be a stupid, skanky smirk. He slammed his fists into the window, watching as it shook and the boy's eyes suddenly widened, backing away with a startled look on his face. Something had changed. His hair was chestnut and fell into liquid brown eyes. He was clad in a dog collar and a black fitted shirt with gray cargos instead of the hellish leather Mello was in. He sort of – cowered against the edge of the mirror, eyes huge and hands up.

Mello continued pounding on the glass, yelling at the poor mirror-boy in sudden rage. He wanted out, out of this house, out of this city, back to England or maybe Germany – whatever. Not here. The boy sat down in his mirror, hands covering his face as Mello's fists shook the windows and small cracks started to appear in the aged glass.

Oh, god, look what he'd gotten himself into this time – another lunatic trying to rape him. He wished he'd never came into the house all those years ago, and he wished he hadn't broken the door down and gotten stuck in this hellhole of a mirror. Behind him, he could see all these fields and meadows and rivers and stuff, but he couldn't leave the range of the mirror and it all major _sucked._

Mello continued slamming his fists into the shop's windows, tears running down his face, hands bloodied from cracking glass. The boy was valiantly trying to escape, but he still couldn't get past the frame. He had an entire hand out of sight and could feel leaves – or something similar – just behind the ornate frame, but just then Mello's heavy boot collided with the glass and the entire storefront shattered.

It was like a vacuum being released in slow motion. Everything moved slowly, and Alex felt like he was being pulled apart as the seams. There was a loud pop, and Mello shot backwards to the floor, head lolling on the wall and feet splayed out in front of him. The stuffed puppies were gone. Alex was ripped in half, incinerated, stabbed, raped, poisoned, suffocating, tied to a post, eaten alive and impaled with needles all at once before it suddenly ended. He was sprawled across the floor in front of the hellish mirror.

Pulling himself up, Alex stepped out of the mirror over the newly empty windowsill and ghosted over to where Mello lay. The assaulting eyes were closed but moving rapidly, like a dreaming cat. Alex smiled sadly and leaned over to kissed the blonde's forehead before slowly fading away like a sand devil in the wind.

Alixander Levré was fourteen when he was trapped in the house.

He came with his best friend Madeline and dog Kanel.

He had been trapped in that house for nearly twenty years, all in the mirror.

He had seen sixteen people while there, twelve of which he mimicked.

He knew none made it out.

Mello stirred and blearily opened his eyes.

"Well, fuck."

There was shattered glass everywhere and his head hurt like hell. At least he could think clearly now, not like before, when all he really wanted was pancakes and a good sleep. Now, he just felt overly egotistical – which meant back to normal, except a slight giddiness. Time to get a move on, there was something he was trying to get away from, and he had to get back to Matt. He tried to walk back the way he came, but apparently he wasn't any better off – everything was tilting and he could barely stand up The only thing that didn't hurt was his forehead, though it only made him angry when Mello realized he couldn't see it at all.

During all this, Matt had become terribly lost again. He had wandered fro room to room – a boring white one with tatty sheets hanging to dry, and one very uninteresting room that reminded him somehow of disinfectant. This entire endeavor was a waste. He should have known there was no way out, that he had lost Rena and would never see Mello again. He sighed and stopped in the middle his current hallway, looking forlornly at his boots. Maybe he could -

"Matt!"

Matt was suddenly knocked to the ground by a blonde-and-black blur. Ouch, a heavy blur. When Matt realized who it was, he pulled the older male into a tight hug before the blonde pulled away and sat in front of him.

"Matt! I was looking for you! Did you know there's no chocolate here?"

Matt looked at Mello a bit more closely. God, it was good to see him, but this Mello was different. His eyes were sort of crazed and his hair was mussed and he was sitting eagerly on the floor in front of Matt like an overeager puppy. He was panting slightly and his leathers weren't looking their best. Then Matt noticed his hands, which were slivered on the sides and bleeding profusely.

"Mello, don't your hands... hurt?"

"Uhm, nope. Not at all. Why?"

Matt picked one up and peered closer, to see the slices closed slightly more than before. He shushed Mello again and watched at the cuts slowly healed up. He licked a finger and rubbed at a bit of dried blood before looking back at Mello.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Uhm, nope. Not at all. Why?"

"You look like hell."

"Uhm, nope. Not at all. Why?"

Shit. Mello wasn't himself at all. He hadn't even berated Matt on the amount of time it took to find him or demanded more chocolate.

"Uhm, uhm, Matty? C-can I have some chocolate? Plllleeease?"

That was better. Matt pulled out a bar and watched as Mello devoured it in a few minutes. And another. And a Skor bar too, though he usually didn't eat them due to the low chocolate content... And a Hershey's kiss Matt found in his shirt pocket. Matt had been hungry, but... these were for Mello. And besides, he wasn't big on chocolate besides M&Ms.

"Are you okay now?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm fine, goddammit. Let's go."

Matt grinned and stood up, hands in his poket. Mello had chocolate smeared all over his face, and was busy trying to lick it off his nose. Matt laughed inwardly, but for now, there were things to do.

Mello, check. Rena, in progress. Getting out of this place... Screwed.

**A/N: I really do apologize. I had no idea I was such a procrastinator, and I hope I at least made up for it a little with this chapter. I also took the time to go back and rewrite some of chapters one and two, and thoroughly edit three, four, and five – so my writing should be at least a little more consistent now – let me know what you think!**

**Alex is only a minor OC that I honestly hadn't planned for at all. He just sort of happened and is very loosely based on friend of mine. (I think Alex is French. Just by the way.)**

**I know this chapter was a bit different, and would love to hear what you think! What's good? What didn't you like? How can I improve? Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flaming isn't. **

**Every time someone reads this and doesn't review, another twitard is born. **


	7. Windows & Sparkles

**A/N: Yes, finally, another chapter. I just wanted to mention that the delay was mostly because I just recently moved to a different country... And let me tell you, that stuff is hectic. Enjoy!**

"Mello? We have to go find Rena."

The two boys were walking quickly down a particularly long hallway, hand in hand. Matt was nearly dragging Mello, who was still a little out of it. He pouted.

"I don't wanna deal with her again. I'm too awesome for that."

"Too bad. We have to get her and get out of here before we... I don't know, go insane or something."

Mello bristled. "You callin' homeboy insane, cracker?"

Matt sighed. "No."

"Good. 'Cause I love you, man, but I don't wanna have to kill you."

Matt eyed Mello, even more concerned, and started running.

* * *

Rena was positively waltzing along the walkway. The house was decaying! She'd figured it all out! Those stupid boys didn't get it yet. She had a whatchamacallit, a childish sense of humor. Or imagination. Or whatever.

This place. Was. Dying.

And when it did, they'd be home free, because when the house disappeared, they obviously wouldn't be stuck in it anymore. Because, you know it would be gone.

She was so smart sometimes. Rena could have purred, she was so satisfied with her obviously flawless reasoning. I mean, there's absolutely no problem with that theory at all. Except, you know, they were still inside. And would most likely end up nonexistent.

Rena, however, hadn't realized this yet and was walking quickly down the walkway, getting closer to the drop off with every step. She, of course, didn't know that and began to pick up the pace, determined to find Matt and Mello somehow and get out of here. She was sure Mello would love her idea, and he'd never ever ever ignore her again and -

Rena's fall was totally unlike Matt's. She fell screaming at the top of her lungs, though she didn't fall as far or hit the ground as hard. And when she did land on the floor, she kept screaming until she was sure she wasn't falling anymore - then she started yelling dramatically.

"Help! Oh, help me! Puh-lease! Help! I've fallen and I can't get up, oh help me!"

She peeked out from under the arm she'd dramatically thrown over her face, and realized no one was coming. Mello must not have heard her, that English bastard. He'd pay for not coming to save her in her hour of need. She pouted hugely, sitting on the floor with her arms crossed in the total darkness.

Of course, eventually Rena had to get up, so she did. And she turned around and continued walking the same way she had before she fell. That ultimately became a bad decision as she collided full force with the same heavy door her brother had gone through. The collision knocked her to the ground (again) and gave a lovely purple bruise on her forehead (again). After wailing dramatically for a few seconds, she opened the door and continued as if nothing had happened.

The bright light was a huge shock. She promptly sat down on the floor and gave her eyes a full five mintes to adjust. Straining her eyes in the slightest was a no-no, especially with her custom fashion Kira-Kira contacts in. They'd scratch her eyelids, or something equally devastating. After Rena had finally deemed the light bearable, she stood slowly and made her way over to a grand staircase that shimmered silver. She stood at the bottom for a moment before deciding to climb it, running up the carpeted stairs in dramatic slow motion – complete with a hummed theme song and closed eyes – before she smacked full on into Mello, who, unfortunately, was standing right at the top, facing the other way.

Rena sat down hard and screamed loudly as she stared to tumble back down the stairs. She latched onto Mello's legs and held on tight as she slowly descended - one stair at a time - back down to the bottom, screaming at the top of her lungs the whole way and dragging a rather disgruntled blonde with her. Mello was scremaing too, but his was more to the tune of "Let go of me, you **censored **brat! Now, before I **censored** your **censored censored** and your **censored** boyfriend's too!". Rena's screaming died out, not because she was afraid of being emasculated, but because she sure didn't want Mello castrating himself.

When they finally reached the bottom, she clutched Mello tighter and sighed creepily. He pushed her off and tried to kick her, but she giggled and moved out of the way, so he began trudging back up the stairs. She was laughing hysterically at the bottom. Matt prayed to whatever god there was that she hadn't found some sort of screwed up, off-brand, most likely spiked Red Bull in this messed up house. She eventually pulled herself up and was at the top of the stairs in no time, standing dangerously close to Mello, who growled.

Matt was pretty sure he was the only sane one.

After all the "Hello"s and "Where'd you get those bruises?"s and "Get the hell off me before I take a mongoose to your hair"s, they were ready to continue wandering around lost. Rena thought it was quite nice to be reunited with the two, even though she'd completely forgotten her theories from before – one (or three) too many knocks on the head had taken care of that for her. They were contemplating which way to go, Mello suggesting historically inaccurate Prussian battle tactics and Rena begging to take a route that intercepted Hot Topic.

Matt finally gave up trying to reason with them, and sat in the corner across from the window, contemplating whether it was Mello or Rena who had less in the attic. He finally went with Rena being more mentally lost, seeing as she kept trying to flirt with the irate blonde... No one in their right mind would think about attempting it, not even Matt, and he was the blonde's boyfriend.

When they had resorted to loudly debating the probability of aliens having developed hamsters, Matt decided it was time to intervene. He shoved Rena out of the way, and pounced on Mello, knocking him to the floor.

"Mello?"

"Hm?" Mello cocked an eyebrow, looking pointedly at their compromising position.

"Shut up."

"Sure, Matto."

They proceeded to shut each other up.

Rena had scampered over to the window, peering out with wild eyes. She was contemplating jumping into the swirls of gold, white, and red that were behind the glass, but was stopped by the realization that the window was locked and refused to open. She frowned and smushed her face up against the panes of glass and stared at the swirly bliss that lay beyond. It reminded her of that faux vampire body glitter she bought at Broadway. It made her look just like her favorite actor, Tony DeLaLuna, from the best book series ever, The Time Before Dark. She sparkled just like them. Of course Matt didn't ever let her wear it with him, and her dad said she looked like a sparkly fagface, but all her friends loved it. And besides, Tony was so hot. They just didn't understand.

So, in a fit of resilience (for Twilight – I mean, Tony!), she cautiously clambered on top of the window seat. Glancing behind her to make sure Matt and Mello were still preoccupied, she carefully drew back her foot and kicked the window in.

As soon as the rather sharp heel of her sandal cracked the glass, the entire pane she had touched silently disappeared, leaving an empty frame in the middle of the wall. Rena was rather surprised at this – from Mello's stories about that Alex guy, she had expected something as dramatic and sexy to happen. Of course, he was probably exaggerating, but still.

She tried again, this time kicking the remaining frame with as much force as she could muster. When the wood cracked and buckled outwards, she glanced down and managed to glimpse a busy boulevard three or four stories beneath her.

Then, the frame snapped back into space, leaking a transparent liquid that oozed down in a thick sheet, instantly hardening back into a pane of glass. The sparkles had replaced the city view – the view she was certain had been Charleston's Second Street. She had spotted her father's favorite bookstore about a block away, which meant they were either in the stupid 'homestyle' greasy spoon, or the abandoned office building.

"Hey! Hey, Mello. MATT!"

They looked up from their floor activities in time to see Rena turn around and wave them over to the window. Matt got up at once and went to join her, but Mello lagged behind to fix his hair first.

"There is something seriously creepy going on here, guys."

"Oh, did you just figure that out now, sweetie?" Mello was rather disgusted when Rena's face lit up like a female Christmas tree. She had zero sarcasm detection.

"Yeah! This window is weird. I think we're in that greasy dive on second."

"Your face is a greasy dive." At this, Rena nearly started crying. Mello radiated smugness.

Matt decided it was time to intervene, before things escalated even worse.

"Rena, what do you mean?"

"Just... Just lemme show you." She dramatically wiped her eyes – had to get ready for theatre next year – and kicked the window again. Matt and Mello were duly unimpressed until she cracked the frame again, and they had a clear view of Second street, a good five or six miles from where they'd discovered Charliewood.

"That... is quite interesting, sis."

"Holy shit, kid, you're being useful."

The window healed itself slowly, observing the frenzy of activity that had erupted on the floor beneath it.

Matt was running around the room with his watch, formerly useless for telling time – the house screwed with all his precious electronics somehow. He had discovered the stopwatch feature still worked and was busy timing the repair rate. Matt had already gotten the time the window was actually open, how long it took to open said window, and how long before the self-reparation sealed their portal again, and concluded that their opportunity to leave lasted around four seconds.

Mello had been sent back to the linen closet through which he had entered the main portion of the house. He had been instructed by a suddenly sober Matt to find (and drag back) any sort of blankets, sheets, and pillowcases he could unearth. The plan was to rappel down the side of the building, and be securely on the street before the window closed; if they were unattached to anything on 'ground level' – as they had taken to calling the safety of Second Street – they'd simply find themselves back in the house, and shredded to bits.

Rena had sacrificed her sandals for the purpose of discovering that. Now, she was busy inspecting the walls and floors for anything useful to prop the window 'open'. She hadn't found anything too useful – and doubted much would work anyway – so she had taken to constructing a makeshift anchor to keep them from free falling down to ground level, which consisted mainly of a board shoved deep into a crack in the floor, plus other securities to anchor the anchor.

Mello returned with the linens just as Rena put the finishing touches on her sparkling anchor. Matt was sitting on the floor, winding the red thread he'd used not to lose Mello again back on to it's spool.

"Hey, these'll work, right?" Matt glanced up and saw the blonde motioning towards a pile of white nearly as tall as Rena.

"Uh, yeah, those look great. Do you think you got enough, Mels?"

"No, I didn't get enough, _darling_."

Rena crawled over to the pile and began knotting sheets together.

"You both shut up, more is better than less, do you want a line that's to short? Now get to work, we don't have time to be wasting!"

**A/N: I think my writing style has been influenced awfully heavily by elephantburch and his awesomeness. **

**When we were in the midst of moving in, my laptop crashed (I managed to fix it, thankfully) and I lost pretty much everything. Luckily, most of my things were backed up but unavaliable. So since I didn't have my flashdrive with all this on it, or a program to open the files anyway, I just sat around and wrote countless Hetalia oneshotes on Notepad. XD So I'll be putting those up soon, too.**

**Thanks so much to everyone still reading this, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.**

**Reviews are loved - they're excellent motivation.**


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